"Jaxon, I..." she said, halting and wringing her hands. "I don't know if I can do this." Damon is still out there. What do we do next? Jaxon drew closer, and his presence was like a rock in the storm of her thoughts. "Mimi, I won't let anything bad happen to you." I promise. "We'll keep going together." She knew he was telling the truth, but the lies, betrayals, and constant terror that had happened to her made her chest feel heavy. "I love you, Jaxon," she murmured, her voice cracking. "But the threat... it's always there. We can't move forward if we're continuously looking back. Jaxon held her hand, and she felt safe because of it. "I know what may go wrong. Yes, I do. I can't be scared of him all the time, though. We have to take a chance. We can't go on. What he said hurt her heart, yet the worry still ate away at her. They had already been through a lot. Could she really go another step into the unknown? Could they? Before she could say anything, a huge bang from outside in
Jaxon sat next to Mimi on the couch, his fingers carefully tracing the rim of his glass, deep in thought. He couldn't stop thinking about it for days. He was at this moment in time because of all that had happened to him. Mimi's eyes quickly moved to him, feeling the tension in the air, but she didn't say anything. Finally, Jaxon cleared his throat and spoke with a lot of emotion. "Mimi..." He took a moment to think about how to put the words together. She looked at him with a slight frown on her lips. "What is it?" Jaxon said softly, "I've been thinking about everything." About us. "About the future." She bit her lip and wrinkled her forehead, which made her anxiety flare. "Jaxon, I don't know if—" He turned to her and said, "Listen to me." I know things have been bad. I know you're scared. But I want you to know that I'll always be there for you, no matter what. For you and Simeon. "I'll keep you both safe, no matter what." Mimi's heart pained. She was going to say anything, b
James sat at his desk. His office, which had once been spotless, now felt like a jail. The windows used to look out over the busy city, but now they looked far away and cold. He had worked for years to make CrossCorp a strong company, but now it was falling apart because of his own blunders. He grabbed up the glass of whisky in front of him and swirled it around without thinking. The ice crystals hit the glass and made a noise. The amber liquid gave him a little bit of relief, but the guilt kept eating at him. He said, "How did I get here?" more to himself than anyone else. He placed the glass down and his hands shook a little as he looked at the reflection of a man he scarcely knew. The man in the mirror looked far away and lost, like he was drifting away into the shadows of his past. He kept thinking about what had happened in the last few weeks, and every moment reminded him of how he had failed. He let Mimi down, let himself down, and let CrossCorp down. He didn't answer the p
Mimi sat at her desk. s he looked over the file in front of her and tried to put together the pieces of Scarlett's life. She couldn't quite understand all that was going on, but it all felt like a web of lies. Even though the police said it was a suicide, she couldn't shake the notion that something else was going on. She shook her head and took a long breath. It's too tidy. Scarlett's passing. How it happened. The fact that the authorities closed the case so fast. Mimi said, "It wasn't right," in a low voice that was almost a whisper. Jaxon, who had been sitting next to her for the last hour, looked up from the couch. He had been silent, giving her time to think and distance, but even he couldn't ignore how angry she was getting. "What do you think?" He asked in a hushed voice, with his eyes always on him. Mimi made fists. "I believe Damon is responsible for this." He has to be. She leaned forward and looked over the report again. Scarlett was strong; she wouldn't have just giv
Mimi sat at her kitchen table, absently stirring her coffee while her phone rang. The voice on the other line was bland and impersonal. "We need to talk, Mimi. It's about Scarlett. Her stomach sank. Scarlett, the lady who had been a friend and then a danger, was dead. "What happened?" Mimi asked in a voice that was just above a whisper. The voice took a moment before answering. "She was discovered in her cell. The police say it was a suicide. Mimi felt the words cut through her like a knife. Scarlett, who had always been so determined and full of life—suicide? It didn't make sense. "No," Mimi said, shaking her head as if to get rid of the idea. "That's... no." No way. "That's what they're saying. But the truth is, there aren't any indicators of self-harm. It doesn't make sense. We're still looking into it, but something isn't right. Mimi's fingers hurt because she held the phone so.tightly. She couldn't stop thinking about what this meant. Who had made Scarlett quiet? And why?
"I'm sorry, but we have to take back our support," one of the investors said in a cold, almost clinical voice. He didn't look at James while he talked; instead, he kept his eyes on the paper in front of him. "Your company's good name has been hurt. We can't put our own lives at danger. James felt his face get pale. The words hit him like a punch to the gut, but he wouldn't let them see that he was weak. Not now, not in front of them. He had fought too hard to let it all fall apart. "We've been there for you for years, James." But this... this is too much. Another investor stood up and shook his head. "We're leaving." A single sentence rang in James's head like a drumbeat. This is it. He opened his lips to say something, but the words wouldn't come out. The entrance to the boardroom clicked open, and a secretary came in with an envelope in her hands. She gave it to James without saying a word. His hands shook as he ripped it open. The note inside was short and said, "We're no long